Gary Andersen was a terrific find by Barry Alvarez. Over the span of four seasons, Andersen built a broken Utah State program into a big winner. He gained noticeable ground in recruiting on rivals BYU and Utah. His teams nearly knocked off Auburn in 2011 and Wisconsin in 2012, both times on the road.

No doubt, Utah State's performance in a 16-14 loss in Madison was on Alvarez's mind as he searched for Bret Bielema's successor. The Aggies outplayed the Badgers and should've won. The better-coached team lost that day.

New Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen nearly beat the Badgers while at Utah State this season. (AP Photo)

When the Badgers play good defense, they go to Rose Bowls or come close—and Andersen just may be a great defensive coach. As coordinator at Utah, he played a vital role in a shocking Sugar Bowl beatdown of Alabama. Starting the next season in his new job in Logan, he put the Aggies’ defense on a significant upward path.

But whether Alvarez is as good of a match for Andersen remains to be seen. Yes, Badgers fans, you read that right. Alvarez — ever-revered, never-criticized both in Madison and beyond — may be a tad more than Andersen can handle. If, that is, both men aren’t careful.

Let’s take a moment to give Alvarez his due. He’s the best coach Wisconsin has ever had. Over the course of his 16 seasons on the sideline, he took a backseat to no coach in college football. It was as complete and long-lasting a turnaround as the game has seen. And his signature hire as Wisconsin athletic director — Bielema — was a major success.

Bielema was an Alvarez staffer and, at the tender age of 35, his hand-picked successor. To say he was guided by Alvarez in his approach to his first head coaching job is an understatement.

As Alvarez said the other day, nothing subtle about it: “Bret used my game plan to win.”

Guess who’s still in love with the game plan that led his teams to the only three Rose Bowl victories in school history?

Here’s a quick portrait of Andersen’s new boss: As news of Bielema’s departure spread, Alvarez returned a phone message from senior linebacker Mike Taylor, who informed him that the players wished for him to coach the team in Pasadena. Mind you, the Badgers are a five-loss team and a substantial underdog vs. Stanford. Does anyone out there really think this Wisconsin team matches up with the Cardinal?

Alvarez told Taylor: “I’d be honored to coach you. But I want you to understand that, if I’m going to coach, we’re not going to screw around. We’re going to go out there and win.”

Alvarez is a man with off-the-charts confidence and a seismic personality—and a deep-seated belief that his game plan is the only game plan for Wisconsin. (There is no doubt Bielema’s desire to chart his own course was a big reason he walked away from a very good job.)

“The coach that I’ll hire will be someone that will have to understand who we are and how we go about our business,” Alvarez said two weeks ago. “I don’t look to change a whole lot in how we operate things here.”

Right, but what if the 48-year-old Andersen—experienced and successful in his own right—wants to institute some changes? This isn’t merely an AD impressing upon his new hire the importance of the principles that guide the athletic department and the university at large. This is an AD who clearly believes he’s well within his rights to dictate X’s-and-O’s to his football coach.

“I don’t have any problem with our scheme,” Alvarez said. “I don’t perceive us a spread-’em-out, fast-paced, no-huddle, one-back, five-wides. … You know what the plan is. It starts with those big palookas up front.”

This is what Andersen must prepare for. Both men may have to learn to adjust. Andersen, to an AD who happens to be something of a football god in Wisconsin; Alvarez, to a coach who may not be all that comfortable stuffed under somebody else’s wing.

Not to say Alvarez won’t take his legend to new heights. Maybe he’ll take his Rose Bowl record to 4-0. Maybe then he’ll sit back and let Andersen do his thing with a collection of players Bielema believed would add up to his best team yet in 2013. Maybe he’ll go down as not just a great coach but a great administrator.

Will there be boundaries set between the two men, and who will set them? Alvarez came to Wisconsin from Notre Dame; he brought serious recruiting connections with him that helped the Badgers improve fast. His guidance in the recruiting game could, and probably should, be a vital tool for Andersen. But in the Ohio State and Penn State games? Andersen might prefer to be left alone.

“The game hasn’t changed,” Alvarez said just the other day.

That’s one man’s opinion. It’s a loud, forceful, compelling opinion. But Andersen surely has one of his own.